James Gray’s ‘Paper Tiger’ with Driver, Johansson
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- James Gray directs "Paper Tiger", a new picture set in 1980s New York exploring blue‑collar loyalty and betrayal.
- Adam Driver plays Gary, a divorced ex‑cop who brokers a $10,000 consulting gig with Russian businessmen for a canal cleanup.
- Miles Teller portrays Irwin Pearl, a modest engineer who brings his teenage sons to the Russian meeting, hoping for a quick payday.
- Scarlett Johansson appears as Hester, Irwin’s wife, delivering a forthright performance with frizzy hair and glasses reminiscent of a Golden Girls matriarch.
- Paper Tiger employs a perpetual late‑afternoon autumn palette of ochres, reds and browns, and includes scenes of the Russian community and NYPD’s tribal codes.
Why it matters: Audiences receive a gritty 1980s New York drama that deepens James Gray’s catalog, while the film’s focus on Russian‑backed schemes highlights the era’s economic pressures.
